The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has launched a scathing attack on the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM) introduced by the Union government and terming it “more dangerous” than the three farm laws repealed by the previous regime.
SKM, the umbrella body of around 40 farmer organisations. warned that if implemented, the NPFAM will weaken the federal structure by minimizing the rights of state governments and endanger the livelihoods of farmers, agricultural labourers and small traders.
As per statement by the SKM, the NPFAM proposes to bring about a major change in India’s agricultural marketing system. It aims to establish a ‘Unified National Market (UNM)’ which will be linked to a ‘Value Chain Centric Infrastructure (VCCI)’ thereby allowing corporate agribusiness to enter India’s agricultural ecosystem. The policy aims to digitally connect over 7,000 regulated agricultural markets and 22,931 rural purchase centre, which is close to the value chain model of the World Bank and International Financial Capital (IFC).
According to SKM, the framework prioritizing corporate interests while marginalising small farmers and small producers. Advanced technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be used to create a value chain-centric framework. But critics say deregulation under NPFAM will give unlimited control to corporate agribusinesses, impacting the bargaining power and economic security of farmers.
SKM asserted that the policy ignores two critical demands of the farming community including remunerative minimum support price (MSP) and minimum wages for agricultural labourers. This omission is in direct violation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers headed by the late MS Swaminathan and ignores the social and political roots of the current agrarian crisis.
The strategy of placing the responsibility of bypassing traditional market intermediaries on Farmer Producer Organisations has also come under criticism. SKM says this strategy can increase corporate dominance, leaving small producers vulnerable to exploitation.
The SKM alleged that the implications of NPFAM are not limited to agriculture, but it also raises constitutional concerns. According to the Constitution, agriculture, land and markets fall under the State List, but the policy allegedly interferes with the rights of the state. SKM alleged that the BJP-RSS-led government has used NPFAM as a tool to centralise power under the pretext of “One Nation, One Market”, which undermines India’s federal structure and food sovereignty. The policy is being seen as part of a broader stream of other pro-corporate reforms, including the GST Act, Digital Agriculture Mission, National Cooperative Policy and Labour Codes.
The SKM leaders also praised Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for rejecting the NPFAM, the SKM called upon other state governments, even those run by NDA allies, to reject the policy. It urged political parties to clarify their stand on the policy. The SKM stressed the need for democratic dialogue to evolve an alternative policy framework involving all stakeholders – farmers, labourers, small traders, industrialists and exporters.
The farmer leaders have announced that the resolutions rejecting the NPFAM will be passed at the Kisan Mahapanchayats to be held at Tohana in Haryana on Saturday and t Moga Mahapanchayat on January 9. The organisation vowed to continue mass protests until the policy is repealed.
